II, 4, 13

13. And it is minute.

And the chief vital air is to be considered as minute like the other prāṇas.--Here also we have to understand by minuteness that the chief vital air is subtle and of limited size, not that is of atomic size; for by means of its five functions it pervades the entire body. It must be viewed as subtle because when passing out of the body it is not perceived by a bystander, and as limited because scripture speaks of its passing out, going and coming.--But, it may be said, scripture speaks also of its all-pervadingness; so, e.g. 'He is equal to a grub, equal to a gnat, equal to an elephant, equal to these three worlds, equal to this Universe' (Bṛ. Up. I, 3, 22).--To this we reply that the all-pervadingness of which this text speaks belongs to the Self of the prāṇa in its adhidaivata relation, according to which it appears as Hiraṇyagarbha in his double--universal and individual--form, not in its adhyātma relation. Moreover the statements of equality 'equal to a grub,' &c., just declare the limited size of the prāṇa which abides within every living being.--Thus there remains no difficulty.